Republican presidential contenders Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann profess their Christian fundamentalist faith, but denounce efforts by the government to restrain the power of the rich. The Rev. Howard Bess looks at this enduring contradiction between Christianity’s principles and…
Tag: Christianity
Nuking Japan’s Christian Center
American Christians are fond of appealing to Jesus and God to bless U.S. military missions, with little regard for the contradictions between Christ’s peaceful teachings and Washington’s war policies. Perhaps never was that hypocrisy clearer than in the decision to…
Norway’s ‘Christian’ Killer
Christian nationalists, like confessed Norway mass-murderer Anders Breivik, insist that a violent defense of Christendom is needed to shield Western Christianity and its culture from encroachments by Muslims. But Gary G. Kohls writes that such ugly intolerance is an affront to Jesus’s teachings of peace…
God, Palin and Politics
Pentecostalism, a non-rational form of Christianity whose adherents believe they speak directly to God and favor apocalyptic prophecies, is adding to the polarization of American politics behind the movement’s champion, Sarah Palin. Rev. Howard Bess explains the emergence of this…